FRIENDS OF LOLO PEAK TIMELINE

2005-2012 FOLP Worked to protect Carlton Ridge and Lolo Peak from commercial recreation development. A high-end ski resort and real estate development was proposed by private investors to develop Lolo Peak public lands for a ski resort. Friends of Lolo Peak’s advocacy and public outreach for protecting Carlton Ridge and Lolo Peak from commercial development contributed to eventual defeat of this proposal. 

2010 Worked with the Bitterroot NF to install a permanent gate on FS Road 1311 access road to Carlton Lake.

2022 Preparing for upcoming Lolo National Forest land management planning process and working with USFS to rename the Carlton Ridge Natural Research Area the Stephen A. Arno -Carlton Ridge Research Area.  

2005-Present Our 10-member steering committee meets two to three times per year for updates, work review, and strategic planning.

2005-Present Frequent meetings with Lolo and Bitterroot National Forest staff on stewardship activities, monitoring trips, and FOLP’s involvement in the national forest planning process for the Lolo NF and the Bitterroot NF. 

2005-PresentFrequent year-round hiking, snowshoe and skiing trips to Carlton Ridge and the Carlton Lake Basin to monitor illegal motorized access and status of Forest Service gate on FS Road 1311.

2005-present Documentation and information hikes to Carlton Ridge and Lolo Peak area and initial recon hike in 2018 to document trail conditions after the 2017 Lolo Peak Fire; flyover in 2018 for aerial survey of fire damage.

2010-presentMonitoring trail use from the Mormon Peak Trailhead to Carlton Ridge, Carlton Lake, and Lolo Peak.

2018-presentWorking with Stevensville Ranger District, Bitterroot NF to block illegal motorized access to Forest Road 1311.

2020-PresentWorking with Northern Rockies Regional Office and the Rocky Mountain Research Station professional and scientific staff on monitoring regeneration of trees and vegetation with an emphasis on the effect of burn severity on the alpine larch community.